Category: Press Releases & Statements

New Report Finds State Costs Under Health Care Reform Are Likely to be Modest

Contact: David Blatt, Director Office: (918) 794-3944; Cell: (918) 859-8747 Projections that the new federal health care law will impose billions of dollars of additional cost on the state budget are way out of line with other studies and based… Read more [More...]

STATEMENT: Governor’s plan to fix bridges demonstrates need to preserve income tax

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to Governor Fallin’s announcement of her plan for repairing Oklahoma bridges: We welcome Governor Fallin’s focus on fixing Oklahoma’s crumbling bridges. However, we must note that her proposal would be paid… Read more [More...]

Income tax proposal would do lasting damage to state’s prosperity

Contact: David Blatt, dblatt@okpolicy.org, (918) 859-8747 Oklahoma Policy Institute finds that task force’s income tax proposal would do lasting damage to state’s prosperity  A new report on economic development prepared for Governor Fallin includes some worthwhile ideas, but its suggestions… Read more [More...]

Flip It to Fix It: An Immediate, Fair Solution to State Budget Shortfalls

Contact: David Blatt, dblatt@okpolicy.org, (918) 794-3944 Shannon Moriarty, smoriarty@faireconomy.org, (617) 824-0069 United for a Fair Economy Releases Flip It to Fix It: An Immediate, Fair Solution to State Budget Shortfalls, Documents Current Regressive State Tax Structures A new study has… Read more [More...]

New Fact Sheet Shows State Appropriated Spending Is at a Thirty-Year Low

Contact: David Blatt, Director Cell: (918) 859-8747; Office: (918) 794-3944 Oklahoma’s Economy Grows, Spending on Public Services Lags (Tulsa, March 1, 2011): A new fact sheet released today by Oklahoma Policy Institute reveals that the state appropriated budget in relation… Read more [More...]

Fixing the Sales Tax: Options for Reform

Contact: David Blatt, Director Office: (918) 794-3944 dblatt@okpolicy.org New Issue Brief Calls for Fixing Oklahoma’s Sales Tax; Exemptions and Loopholes Are Distorting Economy, Starving Public Services   (Tulsa, February 22):  Reform of Oklahoma’s sales tax is needed to support state and… Read more [More...]

OK Policy Memo: Expect Budget Shortfalls to Continue; Balanced Approach to Bridging the Budget Gap is Urged

Whoever wins the elections in November will face difficult choices in filling large budget holes and balancing the budget in the years ahead, according to a memo to candidates and elected officials released today by Oklahoma Policy Institute, an independent… Read more [More...]

New OK Policy Issue Brief Finds State Question 744 to be “The Wrong Solution” for Oklahoma

Contact: David Blatt, Director Office: (918) 794-3944; Cell: (918) 859-8747  (Tulsa, July 20, 2010):  State Question 744, the proposed constitutional amendment that would peg the annual education budget in Oklahoma to funding levels in six neighboring states, is the wrong… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Policy Institute Report Shines Light on Need for Greater Scrutiny of State Tax Breaks

Contact: David Blatt, Director (918) 794-3944; (918) 859-8747 – cell (Tulsa, February 17, 2010):  Oklahoma’s budget crisis creates new needs and new opportunities to review the state’s extensive system of tax breaks, according to a research brief released today by… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s Poor and Middle Income Families Pay a Higher Percentage in State, Local Taxes

(Oklahoma City, Nov. 18, 2009): State and local taxes take a bigger toll on the incomes of Oklahoma’s low- and moderate-income households than on higher-income households, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a… Read more [More...]